Newsletter Edition 17 - October 25

Principal's Message

Dear Emmanuel College Families,
Valedictory
The departure of the Year 12 students to prepare for final exams, which begin this Wednesday, is an acute reminder of how rapidly the end of year is approaching.  We have every reason to be proud of the students who culminated 13 years of formal education with a valedictory mass and assembly last week. They completed two of their six years of secondary education under COVID duress and displayed significant resilience. They were as happy and appreciative as any group of departing students I have witnessed, while the number of parents attending the valedictory assembly was the highest in the last ten years. It speaks to the challenges faced and the pride we feel for the class of 2022.  Valedictory mass was celebrated by Fr. Bill Lowry at St. Joseph’s Church after which the class and their teachers enjoyed morning tea, a final Year 12 gathering and the whole school Valedictory assembly.  The following text is an abridged version of the words I spoke to the Year 12s at their Valedictory Assembly:

Year 12, most of my words today will be about you or addressed to you, but before I begin, I want to say to our Year 7 students today, welcome to your first Valedictory Assembly.  You joined the Emmanuel family this year and it will be another five years before your Valedictory arrives.  Every Year 12 student in this auditorium knows your secondary school years go much faster than you can imagine.  Afterall, your first year is almost over!  As Lucy said in her speech, “soak up every joyful moment, and give it your best shot”, because you don’t want to be sitting here in five years time at your own valedictory wishing you had been more involved.  Your first year should have shown you already that every day at Emmanuel College brings you a new chance to learn and a new opportunity to grow.  How much you learn and how much you grow, is up to you.
To our 2022 College Captains, Lucy and Finn, I extend my thanks to you for your speeches and I thank all our 2022 college leaders for your service and commitment to Emmanuel and your efforts to leave this school even better than you found it.  Thank you and congratulations.  Finn, thank you for paying tribute to our colleague and friend Ms. Joseph.  The loss of someone so committed to her work and so passionate about her student’s learning is incomprehensible.
I would like to share with you something special about Ms. Joseph that happened just last Friday.  Many of you know Ms. Joseph epitomised life-long learning.  Her education didn’t stop the day she graduated from high school.  She saw every day as an opportunity to learn and in the last few years she completed additional university studies to prepare herself for new roles at Emmanuel.  The most recent course was a Graduate Certificate in Catholic Studies at Australian Catholic University, and like everything she did, she received High Distinctions for the units completed.  Australian Catholic University paid Michelle the enormous honour of a posthumous graduation last Friday, that Mr Slockwitch and I were privileged to attend and receive her graduation certificate on behalf of her family.
The word ‘valedictory’ is a Latin word, and essentially it means to say goodbye.  Today we are saying goodbye to our year 12 students, the Class of 2022, who had their final lessons last week and this week prepare for their exams which begin next week.  I wish each of you preparing for those exams a focused time in which to revise and test yourselves with trial exams as you prepare for the exam that matters.
To those of you who are not sitting exams, I wish you happiness and success as the next stage of your life journey begins.  Tomorrow you may have apprenticeships and employment to begin, or the search for meaningful work to undertake.  Whichever it is your school wishes you success and the opportunity to continue to grow into the person you are destined to become.
With the passage of time, we often forget the origin of some things we take for granted or have become ingrained in the culture of our community.  I want to make sure we don’t forget that it was the group of students we farewell today, who were responsible for the selection, the acquisition and the execution of the positive quotes located in interesting spaces around our school.  The next couple of slides contain examples of the quotes we see almost every day as we make our way around the school or ascend various stairs.  They will remain a legacy of the current Year 12s and continue to challenges us to be positive in our thoughts and our actions, in our relationships with one another, in our school work and indeed, life in general.
My personal favourite is this one!  “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard”, attributed to Kevin Durant, a very successful American professional basketball player.  Perhaps I relate to it because as a young person in high school I didn’t know what my talent was.  The one thing I know is that hard work has got me to where I am today, and I imagine some of you finishing today may feel the same.  That is, you may not have discovered your talent yet, or you may not be sure of the direction you want your life to take.  And that’s okay.  Finishing your last class and celebrating the end of secondary school is not a guarantee you will know what comes next.  But we know that life is a wonderful journey and for each one of you it’s only just beginning.  So regardless of whether you have discovered your talent or not, or you feel confident about the future, or not, each of you has received an excellent foundation courtesy of your Emmanuel education on which to build your future. 
You have had six years of Emmanuel experiences, friendships and values shaping the way you think and the decisions you make.   These experiences, the friendships and the values, combined with the love and support of your families, equip you take the next steps with confidence and conviction.  I trust, from time to time, you will remember the joy of having been a member of the Emmanuel family, and the meaning of the word Emmanuel itself; that God is with us.  That there is a loving God who helps us find meaning in a world where meaning can be hard to find.   As you depart today, this community prays for your health, happiness and success.
Regardless of which journey you take, today is a day to celebrate the promise of the future and to follow in the footsteps of the thousands of men and women who previously made their journey through this school and proudly call themselves Emmanuel alumni.  Emmanuel College is a part of your life.  Never forget what it stands for.  Strive always to be an Emmanuel person; a person of good character and integrity, a person of compassion and mercy, a person who seeks truth and justice.  A person imbued with faith, hope and love. 
Year 12, the class of 2022, congratulations, best wishes and, may God Bless you.
New bus
Just as exciting was the arrival of the new College bus last week.  Although a second-hand vehicle it has very few kilometres on the clock and with 45 seats improves our ability to transport students near and far.  A new bus has been on our wish list for a while and came to fruition this year thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Parent’s and Friends’ Association. The P&F disbanded in 2014, however, the funds they raised were put on term deposit and $90,000 was gifted to the College this year enabling the purchase of a new bus.  Our sincere thanks to all those parents and friends who supported raffles, auction nights and events like the presentation ball, all of which raised funds for the College.  It was impossible to take the smile off our bus driver’s face last week, and our students were pretty happy too! 
Scholarships 2023
It is worth noting the College continues to need to raise funds for much needed items like the bus, as well as capital works, however, the manner in which we do that has changed.  The Emmanuel College Foundation has become integral to the way we raise funds for the College including for scholarships.  We will this week share information with Emmanuel families regarding a range of scholarships available for 2023 across all year levels.   Scholarship information and application forms will be available on the College website this week.  I invite you to make contact with myself, or College Registrar, Mrs Joanne Nelson, if you have any questions about the growing number of scholarship opportunities, or if you would like to support the Emmanuel College Foundation with a tax-deductible donation towards the Foundation Scholarship Fund. 
Fee Raffle
Meanwhile, I encourage every family to support our current fee raffle.   The prize covers school fees to the value of $5000 for one lucky student and tickets are only $5.  The proceeds will go towards the construction of a “ninja” style climbing course which will be installed over the summer holidays.  Thank you to those in our community who have taken up the idea to “pay it forward” by purchasing tickets even though they don’t have children attending the school.  Several people, including our own staff members, have purchased tickets and if they prove the lucky winners plan to donate the prize to a school family in need.  Thank you.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://rafflelink.com.au/emm-coll-fee-raff
Sr Mary Dennett RSM
The Emmanuel community acknowledges the death of Sr. Mary Dennett rsm who died peacefully at the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre on Sunday.  Sr. Mary was the second principal of Emmanuel College during 1994-1995 and lived a life of service as a Sister of Mercy and to the schools in which she worked during her life.  We pray for Mary her family and the members of her community who cared for Mary during her time of illness.  I last spoke to Mary prior to our 150^th anniversary celebration mass which she wished she could attend but her health prevented her from travelling.  She was, I am sure, here in spirit. 
We also share our deepest condolences with Director of Junior School, Mrs Karen Hetherington, following the death of her loved mother Pamela last week.  Karen’s mother passed away peacefully on October 15 with her family by her side.  Pamela leaves seven children and was a very proud grandmother.  She is now reunited with her husband Peter after 30 years apart.  Please remember Karen, her family and friends in your prayers at this sad time.
Comfort Mary and Pamela with your love O God and take them into your tender care.
Hold them close and hold us safe, we who mourn their loss.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let your love forever shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
COVID Update
Finally, there have been recent changes with regard to schools and COVID.  A COVID Update has been shared with families this week through Operoo. 
Melbourne Cup Day - Student free
A reminder that next Tuesday 1 November, All Saints Day, which also happens to be the Melbourne Cup, is a student free day at Emmanuel College.  We share our support and solidarity with families and school communities in the flood effected areas across the state and remember them in our prayer this week.
We remember in our prayer:
Those whose lives have been devastated,
Those who are feeling vulnerable and weak. 
Those who are stranded
Those who are facing both long-term and short-term needs. 
Those who are homeless in this crippling time
We pray also for all those who are meeting needs at this time: 
Volunteers and community workers,
Those working to rescue people who are stranded. 
Those supplying food, water, equipment, money and urgent supplies.
Those working to clear roadways and homes that have been damaged.
Police officers, emergency personnel, medical and social welfare responders.
Those seeking to offer protection from theft and fraud.
We pray that each of us will play our part in responding to the overwhelming conditions of this time, and particularly in reaching out to those who are struggling to rebuild their lives.We pray too, that we will continue to urge the Government to play its part in strengthening structures that will heal our land, restore creation, and relieve those suffering homelessness and poverty.
We make all our prayers in the name of Jesus, who reached out always to those most in need. 
(Jan Barnett RSJ, Josephite Justice Co-ordinator).
I wish you well this week. May the spirit of Mercy be with you and in all that you do.
Kind Regards,
Peter Morgan
Principal 

Year 12 Valedictory

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A Message from Mrs Claire Wrigley

Respect Cup
On Friday October 22 Emmanuel College hosted the Respect Cup event with Trinity College and Mercy Regional College participating in the day.  The day began with a project pitch presentation from each of the schools addressing a key issue around equality and respectful relationships.  The students were very fortunate to have Maree Lane, Chairperson of Emmanuel Board & Project Manager -Engagement & Delivery at SED advisory,  Andrew Sloane, CEO at South West Academy of Sport and Montanna MacDonald, Emmanuel College -Marketing and Community Engagement Coordinator.  A very knowledgeable and experienced panel of experts in project development to share feedback with the students after they presented their projects.
The second part of the day involved students participating in a mixed netball round robin competition. The games were played in great spirit and Emmanuel played off in a final against Mercy Regional College, with Emmanuel winning and being awarded the 2022 Respect Cup. We look forward to our Year 9 students involved developing their project further and hopefully seeing it come to fruition.
Mental Health Month 
October is mental health awareness month. During this month there are activities students have had the opportunity to be involved in at lunchtimes. These activities allow students to have some fun and connection with peers and our college wellbeing team. Such activities include mindfulness walks, mindfulness colouring, Just dance activity and headset VR goggle fun!! We are also offering for our Year 12 students mindfulness sessions on a Monday and Wednesday morning and a chill out space prior to exams to come and grab some water, something to eat and chat with our wellbeing team to calm the nerves before exams.

Safe on Socials
Face filters to trick your kids.
Do your kids actually know who they are talking to online? Do you even know?
Face filters are nothing new but in the wake of Todd Sampson’s Omegle discovery in his documentary Mirror Mirror, the video footage that transpired offered viewers a very transparent take on how the video chatting app works.  The reality however, is that many people your kids may be talking to via Omegle or any other social media platform, are not who they say for more information click on the link below.
https://www.safeonsocial.com/post/important-notice-for-parents?utm_campaign=d0ee19ea-acac-4ffc-b49c-7b3afeb2c347&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=63e8c7d9-f3b3-42d0-bda0-4cb9a4ec54ca

Respect Cup

Library News

As Year 12 students have transitioned from going to classes every day to coming to the Library for their exam preparation, we have photographed some of their study time.  They have been busy printing trial exams, meeting with teachers and reading over their notes. 
We wish the Year 12 students all the best for their exams.

Margaret Sinnott 
Librarian

Sports Report

State Athletics
On Monday October 17th the College was represented by 20 students attending the State Athletics held at Lakeside Arena, Melbourne. There were many terrific performances on the day including 4 podium finishes to Grace Kelly who finished 1st in the Girls 16 year old 100m, Hannah McMeel who ran 3rd in the 200m and 2nd in the 400m Girls 13 year old races and Jeff Collins who narrowly missed out on gold in the 16 year old boys Javelin. Congratulations to all students involved, results for every event can be found on the link below.
State Athletic Results

WD Junior Summer Sports
Basketball
With multiple teams representing the school in all age groups our Junior School Basketballers competed against Warrnambool College and Brauer for spots in the regional finals. Both our Year 7 boys and girls were successful and will now play in Ballarat on October 28th, with our Year 8 Girls also joining them for the trip to Regions. Unfortunately a narrow loss cost out Year 8 boys teams a place in the finals, losing a tight contest to Brauer by 1 point. Good luck to all progressors next week.
Cricket
With no other team entered our Year 7 boys moved straight to the regional finals. They will be joined by our Year 8 boys who beat Warrnambool College in the last over of the Boys final with Brock Gannon hitting the winning runs with 2 balls to spare. Unfortunately our Girls team were not so lucky, being narrowly beaten by Warrnambool College in the final.
Volleyball
With two teams entered Emmanuel showed terrific skill in there games against King's College, Brauer College and Warrnambool College. The teams were full of terrific enthusiasm as they ended the day undefeated taking out the Division Netball title for the Year 8 Girls group.
Tennis
The College teams automatically progress with no other teams entered in the Year 8 Boys, Year 7 Girls and the Year 8 Girls Divisions. Our Year 7 Boys competed against Warrnambool College in an effort to earn their spot at Regionals. The team competed well particularly in the doubles format resulting in a win.
Senior Boys State Cricket
Unfortunately, the Year 12 Boys Cricket didn’t bring home the victory in the state final held on Tuesday the 11th of October in Balwyn.. The team came up against a solid SEDA – Carlton who included some highly ranked metropolitan talent.
Batting first we got off to a solid start with some good contribution from Will White (25) and Ethan Boyd (11). Unfortunately, the boys lost wickets while trying to lift the run rate which led to a collapse and a final innings total of 72.
As it turned out the SEDA batters were too strong, passing the score in the 11^th over 3 wickets down. There was some unlucky bowling and excellent fielding on display but in the end 72 was always going to be hard to defend.
Well done to all in the team. Plenty of fun was had on the day and they all played with great spirit which made for a good morning at North Balwyn.  Thanks to Ben Brisbane and Jaffa for taking the team on the overnight trip.
Alastair Templeton,
Sport Coordinator.

Chess Tournaments

Online Chess State Finals – Thursday 20 October.
Eleven keen chess players participated in the state finals on Thursday. ­­­­­­The competition was an online competition comprising two separate divisions with nine rounds of chess. Five of our players played in the open division whilst six players represented the middle division.
All players enjoyed the day and managed to each score points on the board. A big well done to our middle division who were placed third overall in the state and to our senior division who were placed eighth.
The overall results for the tournament are summarised in the table below:

 Our teams have qualified for the Nationals to be played at the end of November. A big congratulations to all of the players. We at Emmanuel College are really proud of you and look forward to you all playing in the Nationals next month.

Interschool Chess Tournament versus St Pats Ballarat - Friday 14th of October
11 of our chess players played in an inter school chess tournament against St. Patricks of Ballarat. This tournament was not the typical CSSS chess tournament where a number of schools belonging to the Ballarat Diocese usually participate. The tournament was split into an intermediate and advanced division. Only one of our players, Hamish O’Connor competed in the advanced division. The competition was an online competition consisting of 7 rounds. All of our players certainly benefited from the tournament and enjoyed playing competitively. The tournament also served as an ideal opportunity to gauge the ranking of our own players as this has been the first opportunity of having a competition the whole. 

A summary of the results are displayed in the results table below. A big congratulations to Reuben Knoll-Miller who was placed first in the intermediate division, Kuyan Bowden placed second in the intermediate division and Cameron Brian was placed third in the intermediate division. Jack Gleisner was rated as the most improved player in the tournament. Well done to all of our players on a great day of chess

Mr Andrew McKenzie
Chess Coordinator

My New Gallery

Performing Arts News

Performing Arts News
Five of our music staff were very privileged to have been invited to perform as part of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival closing Gala Concert on the weekend, titled "Regeneration." Ms. Sian Thompson and Ms. Maria Carras-Kerr were a part of the community choir that formed the Chorus for the works presented, Mrs. Erin Toulmin was selected to play on the clarinet, and Mr. Dean Mulholland on French horn, alongside world-renowned, professional musicians in the orchestra. The concert also featured exquisite vocals from one of our college voice teachers, Leah Oswin. The concert featured many operatic works, as well as a world premiere of a piece titled "And the Sweetness Worked It's Charm" by Australian Composer Dermot Tutty. It was such an honour to be involved in such a wonderful initiative, and performing alongside professional musicians was not only a privilege, but a great learning experience for all of us! It is always an exciting experience to be challenged as performers, so we can grow, learn, and pass on our learned experiences to our colleagues and students. It was such a fun time, and we can't wait until next year!
Written by Erin Toulmin - Year 7 Band program tutor.
VCE Drama : Solo Performance Evening
The Unit 4 Drama students have completed their VCAA Drama solo exam on Monday at The Lighthouse Theatre. Prior to Monday we held a Solo Performance Evening which provided experience of performing their exam pieces in front of an audience as well as a way for the Unit 2 Drama students to perform their solo performance SAC for assessment. We wish our Unit 4 students all the best for their written exam in November.
Year 10 Drama
In the last week of Term 3, the class performed a monologue which is an assessment. They all worked hard to learn their script, block their scene and develop character . We have wonderful actors in Year 10!
In the first two weeks of term 4, the Year 10 Drama class did an online workshop through National Theatre, London on puppetry using brown paper puppets. The students created the puppets and then learned about the three essential elements of making the puppet come to life: Breath, Focus and Weight. The class became puppeteers, devising a storyline for their puppet and sound design to complement the action and story.
Megan Davies, 
Head of Performing Arts 

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Mental Health Month

National Mental Health Month is an initiative to advocate for and raise awareness of Australian mental health. It is an important time where the Australian community comes together to raise awareness and promote better mental health for all.  This year the Wellbeing team at Emmanuel College did this by offering students the opportunity to Be Active, Be Mindful, Be Imaginative, and Be Rewarded. Students were able to try on Virtual Reality goggles and experience something new and imaginative.  They were also able to practice the skill of mindfulness by participating in mindful colouring and a mindful walk.  Possibly the most popular activities will be the be active with a staff vs student netball game and a lunchtime Just Dance session.  
Megan Collins,
Student Wellbeing

Career News

Topics this week include: 

Year 12 students
Tertiary reminders
Early entry programs still open
External scholarships
VCE exam preparation lectures (STEM subjects)
Defence Force Gap Year – applications are still open
Year 11
New! La Trobe University Aspire Program – Year 11 Conditional Offer
All students
Online tech career expo
Understanding skill shortages
Australia National University – maths requirement
Music careers guide
Study climate change
Top Australian universities – 2022/2023
Dates for your diary
Interested in forensic science?
Would you like to help people with eye disorders?
United World Colleges – scholarships are now open to study Year 11 & 12 overseas
Train to become a flight attendant
For further information please visit the Careers Website: https://www.emmanuelcollegecareers.com/

Current Vacancies
We have been made aware of several vacancies in the region, please see below further details.
Montgomery Carey and Associates have a Gap Year opportunity, attached below are more details.
Brumby’s Bakery have a Full Time Traineeship available, traditionally Monday-Friday work but can be the option of weekend work also, contact David McMahon for further details 0447 326 098
eResources have a Full Time Traineeship available in IT, Contact Cameron Jones 5561 2094
Wynton Catering have a Full Time Gap Year Traineeship available in Hospitality, Contact Dan Myers 0434 581 546
Bakers Delight have several vacancies available, 1 for an apprentice Baker and several positions for Sales Staff (permanent part time), if you are interested please contact Scott 0447351805 or farrobake@gmail.com
Craig Irving Builder has an apprenticeship available in Building, please send your expression of interest and resume to dgladman@emmanuel.vic.edu.au as I will then forward on.
Southwest Roofing are looking at employing an apprentice, Contact details Gerard Duynhoven 0418370020
Homeseeker have a part time vacancy (2-3 days per week) in Office Administration, please contact Daryl Kenna for further information 0418529739
Stephenson’s Kitchens have a vacancy for a 1^st Year apprentice, if you would like to apple, email info@stephensonskitchens.com.au or drop your resume off at 15 Robson street.
Campion books have summer casual jobs available to anyone who might be looking for work on a casual basis both in the retail shop and in warehousing preparing the schools resource list. If interested simply drop your resume into the shop at 169 Fairy Street between 9.00 to 5.00 Monday to Friday and ask for Craig.
Barlow Dental Group are now looking to employ a Dental Assistant to complement the already established team.For the right candidate, we hope to be able to offer a full-time position from early 2023.  Pending a satisfactory probationary period, they would support the applicant with:
"On the job" training and mentoring by 2 very experienced (and friendly) dental assistants
Obtaining formal qualifications through RMIT (certificate 3 followed by certificate 4 in dental assisting) - this will result in the candidate having the nationally recognised qualifications.
Ideally, someone looking to stay local long term.   In brief we would be particularly interested in the following qualities:
- Willingness to learn
- Presentable professional appearance
- Personable nature
- Reliable
- Punctual
- Mature
If you are interested please send your resume to Trephina admin@barlowdentalgroup.com or feel free to contact them by phone on (03) 5561 095

Finally, just a reminder Traineeships and Apprenticeships in the region will be starting to become available through Westvic Staffing Solutions, please use this link for further details https://westvic.org.au/ alternatively MEGT also encourage students to visit their website for vacancies in the region and statewide also https://www.megt.com.au/

Scholarships 2023

Teacher 4 Teacher

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 25 October
GWR Junior Cricket - washed out 

Wednesday 26 October
VCE English Examination
Carmens Road Safety Presentation to Year 11

Friday 28 October 
World Teacher Day 
Staff V Students Netball 
GWR Junior Basketball
Year 10 Cricket Academy Trip to World Cup at MCG 

Tuesday 1 November 
Melbourne Cup - Student Free Day

Wednesday 2 November
Year 10 Drama Excursion to Harry Potter
2023 Senior School Immersion Trip Parent Information Night 7pm 

Thursday 3 November
Year 8 & 9 Netball Academy Trip

Monday 7 November 
Subject Change week

Wednesday 9 November 
Staff Professional Development - Student Free Day

Thursday 10 November 
Year 11 Exams commence

Thursday 17 November 4.30pm
Year 12 Graduation